a dash of THIEVERY :: { Kalends & Vade }

[Saint-Cinq]

Suddenly your peaceful romp through forumland has led you into a dark and kinda dank-smelling alley in the middle of a medieval city. From the clanging of bells and onslaught of verbal abuse your ears are getting, you deduce that you're probably near a port and-- OH s**t WAS THAT A RAT???

Some shady man in a black hood jerks his head up and looks at you like you've just appeared out of nowhere. Which, let's face it-- to his fictional sensibilities, you probably have. You notice that he's perfectly attired to blend into the shadows, except for one thing: the satchel he wears under his cloak.

He frowns. "If you have business here, get on with it. I've got a busy day."

You:
>> incline your head in greeting and speak the password
>> wait, I need a password for this? Oh HELL.
>> inquire as to where the boy has been lately
>> OMFG WHAT THE HELL KINDA RODENTS YOU HAVE IN YOUR CITY BOY
>> try to steal his sat--

"Go ahead, I dare you."The man in the hood grins maniacally. You become aware of the fact that a dagger is glimmering on his belt. WELL SO MUCH FOR THAT PLAN.

The boy rubs his temples. "Look, let's save us all the headache. I know what you're here for." He doesn't gesture for you to follow him down the alley, but when he turns his back without a word, you, uh...guess that's what he kinda wants you to do.  

[Saint-Cinq]

You follow the boy into a dimly lit room. He's already waiting there and tapping his fingers on his arm, that smug b*****d, like you're wasting his day. You smuggly cross your arms right back because you know you're not wasting anything: he's a THIEF for god's sake he works at NIGHT. NICE TRY PAL, but you are way too wily to fall for that.

He smirks. Wow, what a jerk. You kinda want to punch him in the face, but then you remember you came here for a reason. Looks like he remembers, too."What do you want to know? I'd rather not waste my time."

Well, he's not getting any prettier. What should you ask?
>> Who are you?
>> What have you been up to lately?
>> Hey, I came here to make a deal.

 

[Saint-Cinq]

>> Who ARE you?

He cocks an eyebrow. "You mean you came here without knowing who I am?"

PSH LIKE YOU KNOW THE NAMES OF THIEVES AND WRONGDOERS HONESTLY OH WAIT
You do know who this guy is. It's all coming back to you now.

His name is Artemis Kalends but he's been known to RAGE when peeps call him by his first name, so you figure you should just stick with Kalends for the moment, at least until you two get better acquainted. You know, DO THIS THING PROPER-LIKE AIGHT. Cool beans.

He's about 19 or 20 years old, no one really knows because he was an orphan and street urchin in Edgecrest-- that's the city you're in now, probs-- until the young!Kalends got adopted by a locksmith. Yeah, it's all coming back. The locksmith turned out to be an ex-thief, so well, Kalends became a thief. You got this. You even know that Edgecrest is on the southern side of Imisus. PRO!

You also remember that he's kinda, well, devoted to his work, if you put it nicely. He steals things that are precious to people. Gross. You've heard a lot of mutual acquaintances say that he doesn't have a conscience and while you don't like to think ill of people, you have to admit that Kalends' sarcasm and biting comments not to mention that arrogant, come-at-me-bro smile make him kinda deserve it. He's been called cold and heartless but you, YOU with your superior ability to read people know that deep down in there, Kalends is a creature of willpower. Rumor has it that he wants fame, but thieves are supposed to be stealthy, right? That can't be true.

Kalends nods."Finally. That took forever. And this is my--" He stops, biting his lip furiously.

Did he just try to introduce you to his satchel? WTF MAN you came here to do business, not admire the Prada and Coach line. Maybe he's losing it. GOTCHA THERE BRO

Apparently, he realizes that you were much cooler than he was back there and you detect a pinch of acidity in his voice as he tries to make up for it."You still probably don't know the half of it. You might also look through this."

Hey, fine by you. That journal looks decidedly personal.  

[Saint-Cinq]

>> WHAT have you been up to?

He shurgs."Don't give me that. It's not like you don't know what I do."

POPPYCOCK NO YOU DON'T
OH HOLD ON AGAIN no, you do. Man, these strategic flashes of memory are so awkward.

Kalends is currently: chillizzling in Edgecrest, his hometown. You can either come visit him or we can think of CIRCUMSTANCES where he comes to you.
Vade is currently: "No seriously, don't talk to my satchel. It's not like it's alive." UM ACTUALLY WELL OKAY IF YOU'RE SURE....

Before that, though: well, Kalends' mentor up and died, so that was a bummer. He also PO'd some thieves' guilds by um...leaving them (what a reckless kid), but he seems to have done okay up to now. Stealing stuff's gotta be lucrative somehow.

Actually, his past beyond here is looking kinda blank. Huh. Maybe you can help with that. After all, you'd be preventing COUNTLESS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY well not really. But he's probably lonely. Deep down in there, beneath that veneer of distaste, immorality, and quick dagger blade, there's an angsty teen who just needs a hug. Hey! Come on, you believe that, right?

Right...?  

[Saint-Cinq]

>> Boy, do I have a DEAL for you...

That jerk. You can tell that he's been waiting for this moment because now he finally looks interested. "Alright. I'll listen. But I warn you, I'm not a nice person to work with." He's got that smirk back, so you know he means trouble. "In fact, I'll bet I can make you regret it."

Well, that certainly sounds like a welcome. BUT you have dealt with his type before. You smirk back and then cast your eyes down to the paper that Kalends hands you and read on:

--
Kalends' wishes:
$ to be a nemesis!
Are you in need of a villain, someone to be your foil in your quest against wrongdoers? Well, let Kalends be your man! Hundreds of costumers satisfied-- references upon request.
$ morality plays
You don't need to know he's a thief. All you need to know is that he's a traveler or someone you met in this city with some serious issues he'd like to sit down and talk with you about concerning morals.
$ slow friendship
He's not going to trust you. In fact, at first he'd probably just going to hate you more. But if you think that being friends or in love with a thief is any kind of good idea, well...go for it. WE WON'T STOP YOU
$ KNIFE FIGHTS
well, not really. But if you guys met at an inn some place and wanted to spar... I would fangirl NO JOKE.

Cinq's Dastardly Plans:
My plans for Kalends are straight-up, capital-V Villainy until Vade enters the picture. Sure, there are some morals, but he acts for himself. I have a soft spot for Redemption Quests, so expect Kalends to get caught up in all sorts of tricky moral dilemmas! 8D

I'd like to keep him in Edgecrest/Imisus for a while as his home base, but if you have a killer idea and can't move, try me anyway! ;D I'll see what crazy reason I can think of to drive him out in the wilds.

Possible things I'd like to have him do:
+ maybe become an assassain? (question thievery vs. actual killing, K. hasn't killed anyone yet)
+ get thrown in jail after he's matured
+ + + fall in looooove with someone who hates his guts on principle LOLOL oh please someone say yes
+ + + fall from GLORY (aka, have all Edgrecrest, his City, turned against him)
+ + be rendered absolutely powerless (maybe with a mage/ involving magic? *u* )
+ steal something important to someone's plot, have them meet him again to get it back
+ put into some sort of awkward situation or force him on pain of death to act nicely

Anrgy!Kalends is my favorite. 8DDD Just sayin'.
--

You look up from the paper and back to the man in the hood. DOES HE EVEN KNOW WHAT'S ON THIS THING?? Seriously, this guy must have balls of steel or something to hand you a paper like this.

"Alright, show's over. Time for you to go." He shoos you back out into the alleyway. By the time your eyes adjust to the light again, he's already gone.

Huh.  

[Saint-Cinq]

You make your way back to the alley and look around, wondering how you would go about getting back to forumland. And woah, hey, there you are. Well, that was weird.

You look back to the paper Kalends gave you and see that not only has it survived the trek back to reality from fiction, but that there's also some contact information written on it:

aim :: thymesnocturne
ghcat :: pm me for it
pms loved <3

Looks like that's it. The forum seems like it's open for your post, and the Internet is already singing its siren songs to you from the browser. You have a striking feeling that someone had too much time on their hands.  

[Faewynd]

Oh! Oh! I don't suppose Kalends is ever a thief for hire? Because Drustan could surely find a reason to hire a thief and he would pay well. Drustan is currently in Prybridge, Imisus, but due to his business it would be easy for him to be pretty much anywhere in Imisus.

(My ultimate goal is for Drustan to make a Friend, but I think that would be the most fun if it happened slowly and reluctantly. I could also see rich and proper Drustan being fast friends with a dirty villain. His mommy would be so mad!)  

[Saint-Cinq]

Faewynd

Oooh, lol yess please befriend him in his moments of villainy. <3

Generally, Kalends doesn't do things for hire. It's more on a "does it interest/benefit me/is it challenging?" basis. :3 Sooo~ if you have a task for him that piques his interest, he'll probs do it for you FO' FREE.
although warning: he might take a souvenir, in true thief style

Prybirdge and Edgecrest are pretty close! WOOT I could see Kalends taking a jaunt out there, maybe to get away from some heist/thieves' guild upsetness for a while. Though he might not want to cause too big a stir in Prybridge if he's maintaining a low profile. He'd feel most comfortable stealing in Edgecrest because he knows all the back streets and hiding places, but a moderate-difficulty target in a new city would be a challenge he'd take. ^____^

tl;dr :: WE'RE DOWN  

[hellotea]

TOSH WANTS TO LEARN HOW TO PICKPOCKET LOL
WOULD KALENDS GIVE HIM SOME TIPS

YOU KNOW TOSH WOULD BE ALL SNARKY DISRESPECTFUL TO HIM
(BUT SECRETLY THINK HE'S REALLY COOL)
*V*  

[Saint-Cinq]

AS LONG AS TOSH WOULD BE OKAY WITH KALENDS BEING ALL SNARKY CONDESCENDING TO HIM THEN YES OF COURSE <3

He has a thing about teaching kids how to be crooks-- so as long as Tosh could explain that he was doing it FOR SCIENCE or something i.e. not a future lifestyle lol, Kalends could roll with that. :3
Where's Tosh at?

GOSH I GUESS I SHOULD LEARN HOW TO PICK LOCKS NOW
/bad thief irl gaiz  

[hellotea]

LOL I WAS THINKING MORE LIKE TOSH SEEMS HIM PICKPOCKET SOMEONE
AND INSTEAD OF REPORTING HIM IS LIKE "LMFAO I WANT TO LEARN TO DO THAT"
(BECAUSE I WANT TO STEAL SOMETHING FROM AN EVIL BULLY KID IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD)

but something related to science could be cool too
LIKE HE WANTS TO EXAMINE THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THIEVERY AND ORPHAN/ABANDONED CHILDREN MINDSETS....  

[Saint-Cinq]

OOH A NEFARIOUS ULTERIOR PURPOSE
WHY THEN YES OF COURSE
Yeah, that sounds fine! ^.^ Kalends would definitely go with that, lol. IDK, science is wonderful but not necessary-- Kalends has a soft spot for kids and doesn't want to "corrupt" any innocents, but he'll probs be amused that Tosh wants to learn. xD

I SAY WE GO FOR IT YEAH  

[Roadkill]

Kalends is the most delightful douchebag in town, and I would love it if Maeve and him could interact again, haha. 8D She's currently on her way to Imisus (northern side), but I imagine she'll make her way down. ;3  

[Saint-Cinq]

Roadkill

ROAD <333
DUDE OF COURSE. MAEVE IS THE MOST BADASS MERCENARY I KNOW

Ooooh yess, more Maeve/Kalends fun times sound awesome! ^___^ He's gonna be so mean to her when he finds out that she's trying for the Guard, omg. Oh hey, want to get them to fight/spar? 8DD I'd love Kalends to underestimate her and then get pinned to the ground or royally beaten, lol. He's more a steal-and-flee-else-fight-in-the-dark than a stick-it-out-and-battle kinda guy.

ALSO THE SNARK. OH, THE SNARK <3  

[Roadkill]

Ahhh, them getting into a fight/sparring would be grand! More chances to beat up player characters, awwyeee. ;DDD